Exmoor pony - Breed characteristics, Breed history, The Exmoor today

The oldest British breed of horse; a small pony developed on Exmoor, Devon; height, 11·2–12·3 hands/1·2–1·3 m/3 ft 10 in–4 ft 3 in; very hardy; broad chest, deep body, stiff springy coat; brown with cream muzzle; broad nostrils, eyes slightly protruding.

The Exmoor pony is the oldest and most primitive of the British native ponies, as well as the purest, and some herds still roam free in the moors of southwest England (i.e.

Breed characteristics

The Exmoor is extremely hardy, resistant to many equine diseases, with great powers of endurance.

In the cold, wet winters the Exmoor grows a double coat, with a soft, wooly undercoat and a longer, oily, water-repellant outer coat.

The ponies have a primitive appearance.

Breed history

The Exmoor is thought to be directly descended from the ponies that migrated from North America across the prehistoric land bridge. There has been very little crossbreeding, making the Exmoor the purest of the native pony breeds. The earliest crossing was with Celtic ponies, who bred with the native ponies of the region in 1000 BC.

Exmoor was once a Royal Forest and hunting ground, and was sold off in 1818. Sir Richard Acland, the last warden of Exmoor, took thirty ponies and established the famous Anchor herd, which still exists to this day.

Some farmers tried crossing the pony with other breeds, but the offspring were not hardy enough to survive the harsh moor, and these herds died out early this century.

The Exmoor Pony Society was formed in 1921, aiming to preserve the purebred Exmoor.

World War II was disastrous for the ponies. The moor became a training ground, and the breed was nearly killed off, with only 50 ponies surviving the war.

The Exmoor today

The Exmoor is bred throughout Britain, although the worldwide population close to 2000 the effective breeding population is less than 250 making Exmoors a rare breed. Every October they are rounded up and the foals are inspected and registered with the Exmoor Pony Society.

Those that are not wild are used for a variety of activities, including showing, jumping, long-distance riding, and driving.